Some Notes On Stravinsky's Requiem Settings PDF

Some Notes on Stravinsky's Requiem Settings
Author(s): Claudio Spies

Source: Perspectives of New Music, Vol. 5, No. 2 (Spring - Summer, 1967), pp. 98-123
Published by: Perspectives of New Music
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SOME NOTES ON STRAVINSKY'S
REQUIEM SETTINGS
CLAUDIO SPIES
STRAVINSKY'S most recent religious works, Introitus

and Requiem Canticles,1 are settings of various p
texts comprised in the Roman Catholic Mass f
Burial Service. In the Introitus, the entire opening s
Mass is set-with apposite use of the third perso
by the dedication. The texts for the Requiem Cantic
the Introit and Sequence of the Mass, and con
Responsory Libera me from the Burial Service. B
respectively on 17 February 1965 and 13 August
cally adjacent-except for the 17-measure orchestr
Popular Tune (at T1)-but not as intimately relat
might at first be assumed. For while they share
with strophic designs, the use of refrains, and schem
tween contrasting elements (defined by textural
traits), as well as characteristics obviously attributab
can be proved not to stem from a common comp
compositional) impulse.
The Introitus unfolds in three strophes alternating

single choral line and sentences spoken together
choral sections, with the final strophe repeating
the first in two-part counterpoint and omitting cho
ture is consistently accompanied by an amalgam
their doubling-sustaining single viola and single
embedded in and interwoven with self-sufficient instrumental music
serving the purposes of introduction, cadence, interlude, conclusion, and
punctuation by means of a refrain. To this end, the four participating
instrumental duos achieve the combinations indicated in the diagram on
page 99. The asymmetrical aspect of this overall design is proposed most
clearly by the sung choral rhythms shown in Ex. 1. For the sake of refer-
ence, this design can be abbreviated a + a + b, provided that its funda-
1 The Requiem Canticles, dedicated "to the Memory of Helen Buchanan Seeger," received
their first performance on October 8, 1966, at Princeton University.
98 *
SOME NOTES ON STRAVINSKY S REQUIEM SETTINGS
1. piano-harp + tam-tams mm.* 1-2 (introduction)

* 9-10 (mid-point punctuatio
* 32-33 between sung phrases
* 46-47 of each choral stroph
2. timpani + viola-contrabass 3-7 (strophe 1)

11-15;
26-30,
34 39;(strophe 2)
42-45
**48-49.
4-49, (strophe 3)
3. tam-tams 7-8 (punctuation connecting

30-31 sung phrases
45 refrain listed i
4. piano-harp + tam-tams + viola-contrabass * 16-17 (accompaniment to

j~~~1 ~40-41 choral speaking)
5. piano-harp + viola-contrabass * 18 (cadence)
6. viola-contrabass 19-25 (interlude)
7. harp + timpani + viola-contrabass * 50-53 (coda)
mentally strophic nature be kept in proper perspective, wher

resents an element of only limited contrast. Asymmetry is
abetted both by unrecapitulated instrumental events, such as
lude (mm. 19-25) and its immediately preceding cadence, an
singular, eloquently ascending coda. At the same time, stro
pitulations abound; they are, in fact, preponderant. The one
element that occurs in both chorus and instruments is the qu
triplet (first in the tenors, m. 8), whose reappearance in th
phrase of each strophe, and in an unchanging instrumental
lends it formal weight (mm. 13, 38, 49).
In the program notes for the Introitus it is stated: "No novelty
found in the manipulation of the series except, perhaps, in c
ture where, however, it is less a question of seriation than of ch
If this ambiguous explanation were to be somewhat expande
be shown to mean, in the first place, that the chordal structu
to are at least partly derived by juxtaposing and combining r
note or three-note fragments at independent transposition l
such fragments can represent selected adjacencies in the set
furthermore the choices in question are geared toward establ
2 Igor Stravinsky and Robert Craft, Themes and Episodes, New York, Alfred A. K
pp. 62-63.
. 99 ?
T: - J J J 71 IJ : J IJ J J J Jl II -I< J J
Imm.3-81 ~ (extension)
I I l Imm.10-15]
B J:J | JJJ|
Imm.24-301 Imm.33-391
T&B: f t J i X 1
r;n7n~ I I I I' I I
| mm.42-451 l nI mm.47-49,
Ex. 1
ceptibly patterned melodic connections both within the chord suc

sions themselves, and between such chords and their immedia
preceding or subsequent choral phrases. An examination of chord st
tures, as well as of other instrumental passages in the Introitus which a
not-or not conventionally-"twelve-countable" is of considerable inte
if also rather tantalizing. (These passages are marked with an aste
on the above table of instrumental combinations, as well as on tab
further on, concerning set-usage in both the Introitus and Requie
Canticles.)
The three opening piano-harp chords state a rhythm which will recur
with every appearance of this refrain. They also contain three of four
specific melodic features whose classification and instances of returning
throughout the composition are shown in Ex. 2.
Ex. 2
Ascent or descent by stepwise motion encompassing a minor third, in

either top or lowest part:
(W)
mm. 1-2: top part: ascending: G-A-Bb
bass part: descending: G#-G-F
46-47: bass part: ascending: A#-C-C#
Motion by consecutive minor thirds, by tritone, or by a combination of

minor third and tritone:
* 101 ?
PERSPECTIVES OF NEW MUSIC
(X)
Bb-Eparts:
mm. 1-2: inner
F#-D#-A
9-10: bass part: D#-A-F# (piano)
16-18: bass part: G-C#-A# (piano-harp)
32-33: bass part: A#-E-A# (piano) [see (Y)]
49: inner part: E-A#-G-C# (viola)
51-53: top part: E-(F#)-G-A#-E (viola)
inner part: Gb-A-Eb (harp)
Ascent and return (as if to and from an upper neighboring-tone), in the
top part:
(Y)
mm. 9-10: C#-D-C#
32-33: F#-Bb-F# (harp -> piano)
46-47: B-C#-B
Ascent and descent (or vice versa) by whole-tone and half-tone (or vice
versa), in the top part:
(Z)
mm. 1-3: A-Bb (harp) -> G# (tenors)
8-9: D# (tenors) C#- C-D (harp)
16-18: C#-B#-D (piano-harp)
46-47: C#-B (harp) ->C (tenors)
Stravinsky made a revision of the refrain-chords in mm. 32-33 between
the printing of the Introitus' proofs and the publication of the score. A
comparison between the discarded and revised versions reveals the signi-
ficance of the rewritten top and lowest parts at this juncture. (See Ex. 3.)
triad- I y-
Arpa non arpegg. Arpa
I C rr 0 ~ 0
4'0-
-a
0f ~$tI 0? f-
Piano Piano
. oq q 6
'r 'r hF
8bas.- - - - -
I W i
I Y I
(c.f.mm. 1-2)
first version -- mm.32-33 -- revised version
Ex. 3
* 102 ?
These chords contain more factors than any others in the piece, exce
the unrelated (i.e., non-refrain) chords in mm. 40-41. They may be co
jectured, therefore, to occupy a slightly biased central position, and
their placement at mid-point in the printed score is a felicitous met
phor. It is understandable that Stravinsky would prefer not to recapit
late the opening bass-line here, but to stress X (with the same pitch-class
as in the harp in mm. 1-2) by imbuing it with the characteristic of Y. At
the same time, it is clear that the discarded triadic outline in the top par
would have conveyed much less structural meaning than the simulta
ous use of two forms of Y in the extreme parts, or the containment of a
three chords within crucially placed high and low Bb's.
Pitch-connections among contiguous phrases or segments of th
music-other than those already accounted for-are made in the
simplest way through registrally defined "common tones" (e.g., the
tenors' C#, m. 15 to the top C# in the next measure), or half-step m
tion (e.g., mm. 18-19), while octave-transfer (mm. 39-40) is reduced t
a self-evident minimum by the composition's restricted range. With
this range, moreover, certain pitches and pitch-relations acquire hier
archical status and infuse the Introitus with harmonic priorities. B-flat is
in the center, and with its upper and lower fifths immediately next, the
related sphere F#-C#-G#, as well as a few other symmetrically dispo
areas, could perhaps too easily encourage the inference of a no
altogether novel scheme! Nevertheless, these fifth-related axes are
evidence throughout, and they manifest their purpose in the followi
ways:
Cadences on Bb at phrase-endings: mm. 18
30
Cadences on Bb in the refrain-chords: 33
Phrases contained within Bb's in outer parts: 50-53: the coda's lo

Bb (m. 50) is re-
flected by the viola
(m. 52) before pro-
ceeding to the clos-
ing chord;
32-33 (cited above)
Eb is the lowest pitch in the piece: 9

Eb is the initial octave of the 3rd strophe: 42
Eb is the initial highest pitch in the coda: 50
Eb is the final lowest pitch in the coda: 53
F is the lowest pitch at the end of the introd.: 2 (while Bb is the highest)
(cont. on p. 104)
103
Cadence "in" C#: 38-39 (though the basses'

melodic cadence is
"in" Bb)
Strong G#-D# fifth at the end of the first phrase: 7-8

Strong F#-C# fifth: 10
But the prominence of fifths and fo

readily referable to the set itself, and to
scribed employment. As in most of S
of smaller dimension,3 the complete set is
forms, and although the first hexachor
I7, no compositional use is made of t
melodic features previously discussed c
the set. (See Ex. 5.)
Pp
~ ~R
R
|I i?" ?o
0I "lo#??
" ? *??
II?0 ?o`II
-- 0o
, o?".o ?
I IR
to11 o ? .. <^ "^ * 1 ? ? ",, 4o, ?. o II

t t
Ex. 4
Io ~ ,I, x I I ,
Ex. 5
All choral set-statements are deployed in straightforward fashion so that

both of the more symmetrically related strophes take up all four forms,
and the final strophe, with its prevalence of repeated pitches, uses only
one set-form per part. There is no transference whatever of set-factors
between the two choral parts, just as there is none between any choral
part and any complete sets stated in the instrumental ensemble through-
out. There is elegance in Stravinsky's avoidance of having mid-points in
the choral strophes coincide too obviously with set-endings (see mm. 7-10
and 30-34). In the instruments, complete sets unfold as successive dyads
(viola-contrabass) with occasional "hold-overs" in the timpani. (Only one
set-factor in the whole composition is assigned to the timpani without
being sustained by a string instrument: the B in m. 5.) The exception
to this dyadic deployment occurs in mm. 40-41, where the two chords
divide P into its hexachords. A summary of set-usage follows:
3 Epitaphium, Anthem: The Dove Descending, Elegy for J.F.K., Fanfarefor a New Theater, The Owl
and the Pussycat.
104*
Strophe 1 Interlude Strophe 2 Strophe 3 Coda
Tenors: Pi .= R Bb Basses: I IR T.: R

- i tI E T - --i 1u * B.: IR l t
Instr. R [P R** IR |R P IP | * JI (incomplete and
I~ I I I '~ l l II 1 'E ~I~ IPP in disarray)
I I I I I lI I I e etc.:*
** R:5 = A#; the viola's G
By superimposing se
of excessive duplicat
plains his not havin
the three strophes.
he makes direct ref
octaves (see mm. 42
R] - i xf i'# * ? ' ' ? 0 I
foR .. #.o :
Ex. 6
If it were assumed for a moment that the Introitus was to have been
merely the first part of a larger composition, then it should be reason-
able to expect that an array of set-transpositions would have been re-
quired to expand upon available (and already exploited) possibilities of
set-combinations and juxtapositions. (Even in the event that such pre-
compositional explorations might have yielded desired results, it would
still be feasible for the Introitus to have been planned on only the four
basic set-forms, though, undoubtedly, as a movement of a larger work,
it would thereby have become unique among Stravinsky's twelve-tone
works.) Taking a cue from the charts used in Stravinsky's recent com-
positions, it would then be natural for such additional resources to be
based on hexachordal transposition-rotation, as shown in Ex. 7. It will
be recognized that each of the enclosed trichordal adjacencies out-
lining minor, major, or augmented triads would connote great serial in-
convenience and harmonic monotony (or, at best, ambivalence) in
a work of any length. If the hexachords guilty of such triadic content are
105
,a b Ra b
=11'- I . -7,i-' I . - - :- 7 -
1
2 ^^4'-IFE- I ^^^ _i.-? *^'

2
'.T.- ,E L . I7 b 3
--------- I: :- -- -- --
1. . I I'I
' _ '- _:. . 'q,~ B _ 7
4
3 0 i~ _1d, @ .1-- -Al p_ 5
a b a b
4* ,.' _
, 1* , --e -----_
_- 6R 1
Ex. 7
* 106 ?
Introitus Requiem Canticles ( Requiem Canticles
t
!m Ir -
m t
. . , e b_ - -;
-
41I . - L ' I' 1" -

I _ . I I_m:_ ,.
L...-- --J
I I
(R7) (T
(T
J 3 /
(T)
I , I , I I,
lr-Z r-- Z-- -Z--l l--Z--- - 4
rI $ b- .- * .. "'1l s
- I A:z* 0 "- m- -- - 4;,
icbfLtPt;ijEx. 8 I
Ex. 8
therefore removed from among the materia

chart, the remainder-only one hexachord per o
resents too meager an increase over previously
any imputation of the chart's usefulness and, by
tion of a precompositionally projected larger work.
fore unquestionably an independent conception
its composition Stravinsky was already contemp
setting.
A comparison of P and I forms between the sets of the Introitus and

Requiem Canticles reveals a good many similarities. (See Ex. 8.) For what
it may be worth, the comparison between the Primes of the Introitus,
ElegyforJ. F. K., and Requiem Canticles (1) shows even more pronounced
similarities: the first two share five hexachord factors, and sequential
features in the Elegy's set become even more sharply profiled in Requiem
Canticles (1), since they are symmetrically divided by the hexachordal
bar. (See Ex. 9.)
Introitus: ? , , ' 0
Elegy for J.F.K.: ' i ? o
Requiem Canticles (): o o " --

- * , o _ /o
Ex. 9
The more germane comparisons, however, are to be made between sets

of the Requiem Canticles, for the presence of two distinct sets is surely the
most surprising technical feature of this work. In both, P and I forms
manifest common traits, either among P sets or among P-I "cross-
overs," and are shown below (Ex. 10)-without inversional reflections
-together with two such instances of extensive pitch-duplications re-
sulting from transposition in one set.
Now, in order to reason out the genesis of the Requiem Canticles' set-
usage, it is tempting to suppose that set (2) was formulated first. (The
following tables were copied from Stravinsky's charts.4 The set-denomi-
4 The similar table for the Introitus (Ex. 7) was decidedly not copied and may in fact have
had no prior existence even in a composers' scratch-pad. The evidence it provided is adduced
in relation to the obviously similar limitations of Requiem Canticles (2).
* 108 ?
SOME NOTES ON STRAVINSKY'S REQUIEM SETTINGS
a.
p2 I
Zin- a .-#
#*s i A i.
O) R
b.
OI
Ip . I ,- : _b
C.
Ex. 10
nations used here are slightly different from the composer's nomencla-
ture, and his charts do not include numbering of rotations. But
Stravinsky numbered the two Requiem Canticles sets as shown in Ex. 11.)
The deficiencies of set (2), though not as serious as those displayed in
the Introitus' table, nevertheless effectively curtail transposition-rotations
in pa, Rb, Ia, and IRb to one in each, besides enabling discretely rotated
hexachords of identical set-forms to constitute transposed twelve-tone
sets in only two instances: R4a-Rlb and its inversion. On the other
hand, set (1) is free of cumbrously triadic formations; permits three
twelve-tone associations between discretely rotated hexachords in P, and
two in R: P2a-P3b; P3a-P5b; P4a-P1b and R3a-R5b; R4a-R3b;-plus
their concomitant inversions;5 provides Stravinsky with two useful sets
of verticals; and implies in its interval-structure a distinctive harmony
which will characterize large portions of the music. If, then, set (1) was
devised as a remedial addition, that action must have antedated the
composition of any of the choral movements in the Requiem Canticles, with
the possible exception of the Dies irae. And since the central Interlude
is the only movement among the nine in which complete set-forms of
(1) and (2) are stated-albeit concurrently only in mm. 166-172-it
would by necessity have been the first section of music to be written on
5 I.e., hexachordally rotated contents of: pl, P2, pll and R8, R10; Ill, 110, I1 and IR4, IR2.
* 109 ?
b Ra b
_? 'A - -i b ? i.
~=- -I "-- -i- $' f -

1
2^ . ' ' *- " " i"' * -l,"' i"te

2
4r $-, w *_. RV- 4
5- =^ r r - I 5
_
~~~a ~ b IRa b
2 ...itlt- -- " S-
2
* @ ^?i~ir h- _m 4 n r
4@3 ^ h-u ,,$0$07. u ,#, 3
5., i_b.r.lt-kim_ u.k I?.I,

5b
Tr _
~l-rnn* r '$ -b 5
Ex. 11
* 110-
b Ra b
. - r-
1 w _ . q t. t' . _L
3
N $ . -
#b
___.Y4
t I n. 9 & L - ; ;_- 3-
IR b
4 &i- _ - __
5 $ , $, #- . q,da3
-4iLflr _ ,Il~dpLF~j~a
q, L a r 4 v,,p
VERTICALS
1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6
b IRa b
w- ar_ _ *dn I- *
3
, -t. , _ . q t i . 2
4
5 *?.*'.1).,1'
---_ Mr 1 1_ 't .-^:^
I- ^ 3
f- -W iw - - rt
Ex. 11 (cont.)
* 111I
the basis of any such precompositional conjunction,

irresistible curiosity. A primary initial assumption of
is improbable in the extreme. More likely, Stravins
tion, or more-perhaps the Prelude, which uses onl
ing to incorporate a separate "other" set among his
Requiem Canticles was planned and brought into bein

of nine movements whose brevity rested on the pr
were to be segments of, or sentences from-rather
complete-prayers.6 The formal design is symmetr
vocal movements separated at mid-point by an ins
and flanked'by an instrumental Prelude and Postlu
monic framework with F at either end and "F-deriv
as other immediate or longer-range pitch-conne
middle; a tempo scheme whereby most movement
either through identical or similar speed of beats; s
or schemes of simple alternation among texturally-r
elements throughout eight movements. (See table
The table of instrumental and vocal distribution

summarize textural elements in alternation, and set
(1) or (2), either as discrete or complementary hexa
Symmetries in the larger sphere are also, naturall

movements. Each strophic design achieves a symmet
larly when it also involves such exact melodic repe
once-as to suggest an equivalence between "stro
(see, for instance the Prelude). By the same token,
tion can connote the a + a + b shape previously de
could be seen as an interlocking of two a + a + b's:
and, on the other hand, a "constant" repeated orch
contrasting conclusion. And concluding phrases or code
the best suited occasions for the articulation of limited contrast. Some-
times Stravinsky devises a short passage within a strophe and makes of
6 The one exceptionally complete-and more than complete-text is Libera me. Stravinsky
must have consulted the Eulenburg Edition's pocket score of the Verdi Requiem for this, since
it corresponds as little to the liturgical prescription as his own. He may also have been
prompted by the first 10 and final 7 measures in Verdi's Libera me to convey the large amount
of text by means of a rapidly murmuring, rhythmically unspecific choral mass, with simul-
taneously chanting solo voices. The concluding quarter-triplets + half-note fermata are, at
any rate, as good as an acknowledged quotation. There is one other curious detail: both
composers changed the order of the words "Dies illa, dies irae" to the more familiar version
in the Sequence. However inadvertent Verdi's "mistake" might have been, it was justified by
the large recapitulation occurring at that point. Stravinsky's overall design excludes any re-
capitulation of this sort; in fact, the words "Requiem aeternam" do not return here because
they were not set at the very beginning of Requiem Canticles! As for the textual dislocation
"Dies irae, dies illa," it was remedied before the first rehearsal.
112
- PRELUDE , = 250 (5 I's = beat: 50) F (Vlc., Cb.): first pitch state
: lowest pitch in the
final chord
'A-C '(Vl. solo -- Via. sola):

stressed through reiteration
= EXAUDI , = 104 (J = 52) A# (Hp.): first pitch stated
D# (Fl.): highest orchestral pitch;
: highest choral pitch;
(Bn. 2): lowest orchestral pitch
at the beginning
(A.): connection to
A (T.)
- DIES IRAE = 136 (J =68); (J. - = 34)
(S. T.): first choral pitches
i rae
A (A.) ( + FS (B.))
(mm. 83-84)
(Cb., Vlc., Pno.)
: first orchestral pitches;
: last choral and or-
chestral pitches
F (Fls., Xyl.): (m. 88)

DS (Trb.): lowest pitch,
middle section
(attacca)
(T)
- TUBA MIRUM = 136 C- F -- At -. D ...
C-* ct -# A# -o (E#) --G#
(Baritone)
GC# (Bar., Bn.): final fifth
C#f
INTERLUDE , = 104 (~: 3) (Fls., Hns.,

Eb Timp.): refrain
/ (Bns.): final pitches
REX TREMENDAE J = 104-106 :A# (A.): f

E# (Fl.): highest pitch;
also final highest pitch
C (Vlc.): lowest pitch
[C(Tr.) : (m. 216;

(S. + A.) see Ex. 12)A#
DS (Cb.): final lowest
pitch
-LACRIMOSA , = 132 F (Contralto): first

pitch of solo part
D# (Picc.): highest pitch
A# (Cb.): lowest pitch
G (Trb.): final lowest
( pitch
r LIBERA ME DA[
J = 170 circa (beat: J = 85; J.(S.
= A. T.)
42?)
I
C (B.) C
L LUI i D#t (S.): highest pitch
L POSTLUDE J = 40 (beat: J = 80) IF-G:-B#-F1 (Hn.): su

4
pitches
F (Hn.): lowest final pitch
PRELUDE (2) strings only a) "ripieno": repeated l's,

staccato;
b) sustaining soli; 2 vl., via.,

vlc.-cb., entering
cumulatively.
EXAUDI (1) Chorus; a) hp. -- strings, winds;

3 fl., 2 bn.; 1 hn. (sord.); b) chorus alone,
hp.; strings strings alone at the end.
DIES IRAE (2) chorus; a) orchestral refrain;
3 fl., alto fl.; 4 hn. (sord.),*** b) choral ref
2 tr., 2 trb.; pno., xyl., timp.; c) choral spee
strings xyl.;
d) choral speech
TUBA MIRUM (2) baritone solo; a) 2 tr., trb.;

2 bn.***; 2 tr., 1 trb. b) baritone + 2 tr., trb.;
baritone + bns. at the end.
INTERLUDE (I & 2) 3 fl., alto fl., 2 bn.; a) refrain chords;

4 hn.; timp. b) alto fl., 2 bn.;
c) all fls.
REX TREMENDAE (1) chorus; a) chorus + (doubling) brass;

3 fl.; tr., trb.; strings b) chorus + orchestra;
c) 3 fl., strings;
chorus and brass (not
doubling).
LACRIMOSA (I) contralto solo; a) contralto + hp.; cb.;

picc., 2 fl., alto fl.; 2 cb.***; I picc., all fl.;
hp.; 3 trb. (sord.); strings b) vla.-vlc. pizz.-strin
(no cb.) harmonics;
c) 3 trb.;
contralto + hp., vla.-vlc.
arco-secco, thenI.
LIBERA ME * chorus, parlando;

4 soli, chanting;
4 doubling hn (sord.)***
POSTLUDE * picc., 2 fl., alto fl.; 1 hn.***; a) picc., all fls.; hn.; pno.,
pno., hp., celesta, vibraphone, hp.;
chimes b) hn.; celesta, vibraphone,
chimes;
final tutti chord.
*** These parts were originally entrusted to a harmonium, purely for sustaining purposes.
However, Stravinsky fortunately reassigned them even before hearing a rehearsal.
it a self-contained, beautifully balanced entity; such is the uncomplicated,

perfect quantitative symmetry in this phrase. (See Ex. 12.) An inde-
pendently strophic arrangement can also be located within a scheme of
alternation. Among the more remarkable new instrumental combina-
tions used in Requiem Canticles are the four flutes in the Interlude.
* 114
216 217 218 219
f k I
&^i ~ , r i r
J
S.
A.
Sal V
Sal -va, sal
sal va
va me,
me,sal
sal va me,- f
j j n
.n L K J J J - I-i
Fr
I
R) I I
LRI(=I in R) 6
'AI
f JJ J J J J V "J.
Tr. i? A r f i %11 r I 1J2 I I

arc. marc.
ma no ma nonf
Ex. 12
The following (Ex. 13) is extracted from the relev

that these two strophes are practically identical an
Stravinsky's habitual hexachordal transposition-ro
181 182 183 184 185 1867
Fls.
3 " 0 ; _ fi_
3 P4.
?1b_ -.v _.'yr_ ! 31, 1 _
A.F
22
2 1189 n190 191 192 193
Fls.
p ____1_____ p 3 ' 5
^^^^^ ^r-33
Ifj ~ > - f t
A.F
I * J
3 ~4 -
Ex. 13
* 116*
SOME NOTES ON STRAVINSKY)S REQUIEM SETTINGS
The melodic unwinding of a few successive phrases may be so contrived

as to suggest, practically, structural independence. Such is the a + a + b
in the contralto's last three phrases in the Lacrimosa. The intervallic
balances within these lines, between their beginnings, and in their struc-
turing are of admirably lucid subtlety; it is not without reason that this
is among the most eloquent moments in the whole work. (See Ex. 14.)
250 , .... a
255 r---"--"-----
14 ;if-. '0, 7 .I
259
IfP J - - 1. . ..d ..
262 5r'a
Ex. 14
It is self-evident, however, that the several strata of symmetrical intent

are invariably buttressed by asymmetrical factors. Among internal
"threes," it is always the last strophic utterance that affirms the entastic
bias. In this respect, the prevalent construction in the Requiem Canticl
can be quite directly related to Sections VII, VIII, and IX of the
Variations,' despite any obvious dissimilarities.
Yet it is the explicit concern with structural symmetries that establishe
an inescapable relation between the Requiem Canticles and its mo
extensive forerunners among Stravinsky's religious Latin settings. Th
clearest link is evidently with Threni, a much larger work, but one al
structured in "threes," on many concentric levels, and one, moreover
that stands in as sharp rhythmic and phraseological contrast to its im
mediate orchestral successor, Movements, as Requiem Canticles does to its
predecessor, Variations. But Threni's amplitude was textually conditioned;
7 See PERSPECTIVES OF NEW MUSIC, Vol. 4, No. 1 (1965), pp. 62-74.
* 117 *
the spacious canonic writing in the Querimonia,

constant triple iteration of the Hebrew verse num
two larger movements stood in direct reference t
timing and proportioning by such a lengthy text.
Prima, whose text is relatively short, that orchestral
equal melodic content) are to be found-althou
restated without some change-and only in De Ele
are subtly echoed in the briefparlando return of
393. In other words, choral-instrumental alternati
designs in Threni are gauged primarily to the nece
largely duplicate, and elaborate upon, its structu
suggested by the texts chosen for Requiem Canticles
much more modest, and the plan of short moveme
limitations in formal design. It may be said in
extraordinary compression of the Variations finds it
the severe formal circumscription of the Requiem Ca
Granted that Stravinsky has in the last decade m
tion in his rhythmic usage between a purely orch
involving choral activity,8 the general rhythmic a
in Requiem Canticles should cause no particular surpr
orchestral movements' structural, rhythmic, and rec
a vital contributing agent toward the unity of the w
cannot sensibly be considered in any other light.
mind, furthermore, that in composing this music
Stravinsky acted in keeping with his allegiance to
manner of dealing with liturgical texts. Still, this
any more than in his other compositions on li
making an occasional, circumspect allusion in the
outburst of Dies irae, the requisite scoring of Tub
(and only) choral largeness in the Rex tremendae, the
Lacrimosa, the congregational prayer-murmuring in
doubly knelling Postlude. Lastly, it should be unn
nection, to adduce in any detail the feeling of
of many friends has caused Stravinsky in the years o
The serial practices in Requiem Canticles bespeak str
ing designs so that particular hexachords or comp
occur either in layers or in successive stages o
Prelude, for example, the "ripieno" sixteenths ta
the soli each state their hexachordal conjunctions
8 The only movement to show some greater degree of rhythm

Stravinsky's choral music is A Sermon, mm. 12-19, 21-23; 45-50
pratical reasons of performance that this movement has remaine
* 118
including one transposition that does not appear in the chart. (It
noteworthy that the few such transpositions throughout Repuiem Cantic
all occur in disarray or incompleteness.) Stravinsky does not miss t
opportunity to present adjacently those hexachords of similar rotati
which-only in set (2)-can be joined through a common factor: I5a-I5
in the Prelude, and P5a-P5b, twice, in the Dies irae. In the Rex tremendae
the eighth-note repeated chords in strings and flutes consist of independ
ently successive trichords (one group for flutes, one for strings) cul
from Ia rotations. Only the final chord is a verticalized full hexacho
Recapitulation on the basis of a given instrumental combination, rath
than melodic or rhythmic return, may be supported by a clear relati
between set-forms employed. For example, the phrase for alto flute
bassoons beginning at m. 152 states (1): P and R, before continuing w
discrete hexachords from (2) for bassoons alone. The Interlude ends w
the same instrumental ensemble, this time stating (1): R and
(mm. 197-202).
As in all of Stravinsky's larger recent works, there are some idiosyn-
cratic practices which make twelve- (or six-) counting extremely difficult.
Instances of such usage are more often to be found in chords whose pitch
content does not correspond partially or entirely to any of the available
hexachord types, and whose identity amid the serial apparatus could be
open, at least theoretically, to question. If it is remembered, however, that
Stravinsky's verticals, independent hexachordal rotation schemes, and
frequent eschewal of the total chromatic (at least in its ordinarily inevi-
table association with twelve-tone practice) represent his personally
worked-out components of serial technique-toward ends, after all,
desirable to him-then the correct naming of serial idiosyncrasies be-
comes, merely, the ability to "look at the series" as he did, at a given
moment. It is an ancillary consideration that by being "looked at"
in different ways, the series may thus yield either patterned components
or arbitrary, unrelatable fragments. But there are in the Requiem Canticles
some linear puzzles as well. The tenors at the opening of the Rex tremendae,
for instance, sing a succession of pitches that can only be called a
sequence of three chromatically descending major thirds, followed by a
minor third at a similar rate of descent (mm. 204-207). To be sure, some
of these pitch-classes could be octave or unison doublings of factors in
the orchestral chords, but they cannot all be accounted for in this way.
The astonishment is the greater, however, at the tenors' subsequent
entry (mm. 210-213) which is again sequential for two measures, this
time describing chromatic descents that fill in the span of a major third
before resuming hexachordal syntax in the last two measures. Neverthe-
less, there are easily recognizable hexachordal elements in this odd
119
passage: the major third-occuring often enough w

(1): P, and, in the second of these sequences, th
constituting (Z).
But the most elusive music is contained in those movements whose
harmonic emphasis is sustained by an absence of rhythmically differ
tiated counterpoint: the Libera me and Postlude. The four-part sim
taneities in the Libera me are as difficult (or impossible) to relate to
serial chart as the eight, seven, five, and four-factor whole-note cho
in the Postlude. One can only conjecture that these harmonic movem
were derived from hexachordal fragments variously conjoined, and t
the large chords in the Postlude represent juxtapositions of verticals
selected hexachord fragments. One clue resides, however, in the pervasiv
quarter-note whole-tone harmony; it points to set (1) as the source.
the same time, this music is the Requiem Canticles' strongest gest
in support of an overall tonal plan: the Libera me is in C, and its ba
line could be interpreted as moving from C to F and back to C. Th
triadic outline of the horn's held notes in the Postlude summarizes the
overall scheme by recalling the bass Ab in the Interlude's refrain-chord;
the C in the Tuba mirum, Rex tremendae and Libera me; the last F as the specific
pitch with which the composition begins, as well as the other, more
centrally located, F's of importance. But perhaps the most beautiful re-
call is in the final chord itself: its factors: A#, B# and C# represent the
first six and the tenth notes of the solo violin's opening phrase in mm. 4-7!
The combinatorial aspect of set (1) is never given full expression, but
there are two crucial occasions on which at least trichordal fragments of
P and 15 could be cited as evidence of the set's being put to this specific
use: the sung choral refrain utterances in the Dies irae entail a total of
six pitch-classes in parallel rising succession; the superposed fifths in the
Interlude's distinctive refrain-chord denote adjacent set-factors. (See Ex.
15.)
P 1 2 3 0
_\ $ "'. 6
1 2 3:
I1 2 3
Dies irae: Chorus Interlude: refrain chord
Ex. 15
The Lacrimosa, among all nine movements, is the most meticulously and
ingeniously organized. Each of its vocal and instrumental participants is
-either singly or not-given an unvarying role within four independently
* 120 ?
operating serial structures, and each structure is circumscribed to a p

ticular group of rotating hexachords or verticals. Further, two suc
groups of hexachords are stated in a succession whereby orders
alternately read in the usual manner, and from right to left. In the c
of the contralto's part, for instance, this guarantees pitch-connectio
between one rotation and the next, when these happen to conjoin at t
left edge; and in order to provide this advantage, Stravinsky gives he
spiral ascent of all hexachords in [(1):] IRb, starting at the end of IR
Once this group of orders has been exhausted after the conclusion of
fourth phrase (m. 247), she sings a spiral consecution of all descendin
hexachords in IRa, beginning, again, with the last pitch of IRa. It is o
between the last two phrases that her pitch-connected A# moves up
octave (see Ex. 14)-and for good reason. Verticals, first in IRb a
later (m. 245) in IRa, are assigned to the flute ensemble's sustaining notes
during the alto's phrases,9 and also to these instruments' chords
combination with string harmonics, at the end of her phrases. (Th
occur in all seven phrases but the last.) Muted trombones punctuate
form between all phrases save the concluding two; they state the he
chords of Ia, though not in an orderly (i.e., strictly patterned) sequen
-Ia, I 3a, I3a, I I5a and I4a. Finally, the contrabass + harp and low
strings (pizz.) are given an independently unfolding spiral of Ra he
chords, starting at the top right edge. The fact that the first two orders
are read in the same way (r. to 1.) will be significantly reflected late
But the main purpose behind the consecutive retrogradation at thi
point must have been, in the first place, to move from the initial low
to C (m. 238), rather than to an A#, already stated in the second phr
(m. 235), and secondly, to permit the bass-register fifth D-A (m. 235
move up a semi-tone through the A# link in the harp (mm. 246-24
By the beginning of the contralto's second, descending, spiral, the contra
bass + harp have begun "regular" spiral motion, with R2a. The fina
stages of this extraordinary mechanism, which is to say, the last t
phrases, are shown on pp. 122-23, and the excellent reason for
unretrograded last hexachord in this spiral is indicated with arrow
The relationship between the contralto's line and the secco dyads (m
257 on) is splendidly highlighted by means of the last three rotation
Ra, through their abundance of minor and major seconds.
Enough said-the Lacrimosa is a paragon in this serene and deep

moving composition.
9 A few are incomplete verticals, and the "unison" A# vertical of IRa is omitted. The c
responding "unison" G's in verticals IRb occur while the contralto is still threading her
up IRb hexachords, but there is no collision.
* 121 ?
254 255 256 257 2
AltoNO-F
Solo1"Ei -o Pi - e Je -su Do - mi-ne, do - na, d

IRaS2
IRa (in R) IR3
3
Picc. a abae*
_________5marc. semp
Trb. come sopra
R 5sempre secc
Ex. 16
260
261 262 263
Alto
Solo
26 - 261 26 2 1f1 S.
re - qui-em A - men, A - men.
IRa
Picc.
; % t r ' - - -
0- Fh; S s #? - fi; - -
Fl. 2
Alto
Fl.
IRa Vert. 6
h t' ii: -; - ; '
Hp.
8 r ji ,,: - 7 Y 87 {;fy7: 8 Y
1 Sf 4
2
Trb.
1- - ~ - f i - -, fe
3
Vie.
5 r
Via.
6 - f *7 ") Y 3 Y Y
R 5 (not in R). 1
Ex. 16 (cont.)

Some Notes On Stravinsky's Requiem Settings PDF

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Some Notes On Stravinsky's Requiem Settings PDF

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Some Notes on Stravinsky's Requiem Settings

Author(s): Claudio Spies

STRAVINSKY'S most recent religious works, Introitus

The Introitus unfolds in three strophes alternating

1. piano-harp + tam-tams mm.* 1-2 (introduction)

2. timpani + viola-contrabass 3-7 (strophe 1)

3. tam-tams 7-8 (punctuation connecting

4. piano-harp + tam-tams + viola-contrabass * 16-17 (accompaniment to

7. harp + timpani + viola-contrabass * 50-53 (coda)

mentally strophic nature be kept in proper perspective, wher

ceptibly patterned melodic connections both within the chord suc

Ascent or descent by stepwise motion encompassing a minor third, in

Motion by consecutive minor thirds, by tritone, or by a combination of

Arpa non arpegg. Arpa

Phrases contained within Bb's in outer parts: 50-53: the coda's lo

32-33 (cited above)

Eb is the lowest pitch in the piece: 9

Cadence "in" C#: 38-39 (though the basses'

Strong G#-D# fifth at the end of the first phrase: 7-8

But the prominence of fifths and fo

to11 o ? .. <^ "^ * 1 ? ? ",, 4o, ?. o II

All choral set-statements are deployed in straightforward fashion so that

Strophe 1 Interlude Strophe 2 Strophe 3 Coda

Tenors: Pi .= R Bb Basses: I IR T.: R

** R:5 = A#; the viola's G

R] - i xf i'# * ? ' ' ? 0 I

2 ^^4'-IFE- I ^^^ _i.-? *^'

3 0 i~ _1d, @ .1-- -Al p_ 5

41I . - L ' I' 1" -

therefore removed from among the materia

A comparison of P and I forms between the sets of the Introitus and

Elegy for J.F.K.: ' i ? o

Requiem Canticles (): o o " --

The more germane comparisons, however, are to be made between sets

~=- -I "-- -i- $' f -

2^ . ' ' *- " " i"' * -l,"' i"te

4r $-, w *_. RV- 4

4@3 ^ h-u ,,$0$07. u ,#, 3

5., i_b.r.lt-kim_ u.k I?.I,

the basis of any such precompositional conjunction,

Requiem Canticles was planned and brought into bein

The table of instrumental and vocal distribution

Symmetries in the larger sphere are also, naturall

'A-C '(Vl. solo -- Via. sola):

F (Fls., Xyl.): (m. 88)

INTERLUDE , = 104 (~: 3) (Fls., Hns.,

/ (Bns.): final pitches

REX TREMENDAE J = 104-106 :A# (A.): f

[C(Tr.) : (m. 216;

-LACRIMOSA , = 132 F (Contralto): first

L POSTLUDE J = 40 (beat: J = 80) IF-G:-B#-F1 (Hn.): su

PRELUDE (2) strings only a) "ripieno": repeated l's,

b) sustaining soli; 2 vl., via.,

EXAUDI (1) Chorus; a) hp. -- strings, winds;

TUBA MIRUM (2) baritone solo; a) 2 tr., trb.;

INTERLUDE (I & 2) 3 fl., alto fl., 2 bn.; a) refrain chords;

REX TREMENDAE (1) chorus; a) chorus + (doubling) brass;

LACRIMOSA (I) contralto solo; a) contralto + hp.; cb.;

LIBERA ME * chorus, parlando;

it a self-contained, beautifully balanced entity; such is the uncomplicated,

Tr. i? A r f i %11 r I 1J2 I I

The following (Ex. 13) is extracted from the relev

181 182 183 184 185 1867

2^ . ' ' - " " i"' -l,"' i"te